Inspiring alumni win big during a summer of sport

The eyes of the world turned to Paris this summer as athletes from more than 180 countries gathered to compete in the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. 

Among the thousands of elite sportsmen and women who qualified to represent their countries were a number of Northumbria alumni, competing in boxing, archery, swimming and triathlon events. 

After graduating from Northumbria last summer with a degree in Sports Science, boxer Adam Olaore returned to the University earlier this year to undertake specialist training in preparation for the Olympics. Born in Nigeria, Adam’s family moved to the UK when he was six, and his talent in the ring soon became apparent when he joined a boxing club in Newcastle aged 14. 

After Adam was selected to represent Nigeria in the men’s heavyweight boxing, his coach Richie Stoneham worked with Northumbria sport science lecturer Dr Paul Ansdell to devise a series of physiological tests designed to measure Adam’s endurance, power and fatigue resistance. Having previously undertaken their PhDs together at Northumbria – Paul’s in Exercise Physiology and Richie’s in Applied Biomechanics – the pair were perfectly placed to provide tailored preparation for Adam’s Olympic training. 

It has been a successful couple of years for Adam. After winning the senior English National Amateur Championships and GB Three Nations Championships last year, he then won gold at the All-Africa Heavyweight Boxing Championships in Senegal. This led to him automatically qualifying for the final 16 at the Olympics, where he unfortunately lost to Aibek Oralbay of Kazakhstan. 

Speaking about Adam’s return to Northumbria for training, Dr Paul Ansdell said: “We’re all massively proud of what Adam has achieved since he graduated from Northumbria and were really pleased to play a part in his preparation for the Olympics through the use of our facilities and support of our staff. We follow the progress of all our alumni with interest and pride and will continue to support Adam in whatever way we can as he progresses in his boxing career.” 

There was also a strong presence from Northumbria alumni in both the Men’s and Women’s Olympic Archery categories. Alex Wise, who graduated with a degree in Sports Development in 2022, competed in the Men’s individual event, achieving a 6-4 win over China’s Li Zongyuan before being beaten by France’s Baptiste Addis. He was also part of the GB Men’s team, who sadly lost to Chinese Taipei. 

Bryony Pitman, who graduated from Northumbria with a degree in History in 2020, was selected for the Women’s individual Archery event, beating Mexico’s Angela Ruiz 6-2 in the Women’s Individual category before losing to China’s Li Jiaman. She was also part of the three-strong GB Women’s Archery team who were beaten by a strong German team. This was Bryony’s second Olympic appearance having also represented Great Britain in Tokyo in 2021, where she finished top 40 in the individual rankings. 

Northumbria alumni and Paralympic swimmer Taka Suzuki had a lot to live up to in this year’s Paralympics after winning an incredible five medals in his home country of Japan during the Tokyo games in 2021. This included gold in the Men’s 100m Freestyle, where he set a new Paralympic world record. Taka, who graduated from Northumbria with a bachelor’s degree in Sport Management in 2020 and a Masters in the same subject in 2021, competed in five events during the Paris Paralympics, winning four medals – gold in the 50m Breaststroke, silver in both the 100m Freestyle and 50m Freestyle, and bronze in the 200m Freestyle. 

There was also success for Team GB’s paratriathletes, with Dave Ellis, who is visually impaired, and his guide Luke Pollard winning a gold medal in the men’s PTVI triathlon event. Former Leadership and Management student Dave finished one minute and 26 seconds ahead of the other competitors, adding Paralympic gold to his world, European and Commonwealth titles. Claire Cashmore, who graduated from Northumbria with a Masters degree in Leadership and Management in 2019, won silver in the women's PTS5 (para triathlon standing) event, with fellow Brit Laura Steadman joining her on the podium after winning Bronze. 

Find out more about sport at Northumbria University.